There Are Still Good Cops .
By Jazmine Montgomery
In the recent year , with police brutality incidents happening around the country . The image of police that most youth have especially kids from the intercity is that the police are out to get them compared to protecting them . The Orlando Police Department have given the youth in the community a reason to see the cops in a better light .
In 2011 , Andrea Eliscu started a program with the Orlando police department to bridge the gap between the intercity youth and the Orlando Police Department . Eliscu started a Dragon boating team , where the kids and the cops would compete together internationally in competions . The program has given the kids a chance to travel to new places , and see a different culture from what they know .
Here recently, the two teams went to a compete in Chicago, IL where one of the two teams took home a gold medal . They competed against 63 other teams , and they were the only team competing that had not only cops , and kids working together , but they were only team that had kids competing.
Marlon Mcclain ,has been a participating officer in the program for the past four years . He said one thing that he has learned is that these kids all come from different backgrounds , but the one thing they have in common is that every kid wants to be considered a winner . Officer Mcclain said that the one thing he wants the kids and the cops to all take something away from this experience .” We want the kids to understand that not every cop is bad , and for the cops to understand that not every youth from the area is out causing trouble .”
The program is funded by the Orlando Police Department, the citizens of Orlando , and Mayor Buddy Dyer . When the kids , and cops travel they have nothing to worry everything is taken care of while they are traveling .
The cops make it their job to follow up with the kids making sure that they keep up their grades , and have even helped the kids become CPR certified . The kids even got the chance to help coach a UCF women’s basketball game this past year , and were taken on a college tour of Valencia Community College .
The officers in the program just want to show the kids that even with the things they may see of cops in the media , that there are still good cops out there that want to help , and protect them .
